


Digging Up the Past

by ToastedOcelot



Category: Wynonna Earp - Fandom
Genre: Ancient Languages, Archaeology, Beers, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Jeremy and Doc bro-mance, Nicole Haught Backstory, Peacemaker, Purgatory, Revenants, Shorty's, Shower Sex, Stoic Dolls, badass Wynonna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-03-12 10:23:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13545387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToastedOcelot/pseuds/ToastedOcelot
Summary: Fic set after the end of season 2A blast from the past turns up in Purgatory and she has connections to Nicole's past.





	1. Time Traveller

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic to occupy myself while we wait for Season 3!  
> I decided to add a new character called Anna who is only temporary but I just wanted to shake up the character dynamics a bit.  
> Not completely canon as Gus is still in Purgatory, there is no mention of the Cult of Bulshar and no mention of Wynonna's daughter.
> 
> Please leave me some comments as this is my first fic! Hope you guys like it :)

_A female figure wears a denim jacket covered in patches. She leans against the wall of the cop precinct smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, puffing smoke out into the frigid air._  
_She is small, slightly shorter than Waverly in height_  
She pulls her phone out of her pocket and checks the time, 11:17 am  
A moment later Nicole comes out of the precinct and starts to walk past the woman towards her cruiser parked 100 meters up the road.  
The woman allows Nicole to pass while she takes the final drag from her cigarette

__

__

'Officer Haught I've got a bone to pick with you'  
Nicole turns on her heel at the familiar voice  
'Anna is that you?'  
'Sure is and why are you so nervous?' Anna replies noticing how Nicole's hand had instinctively reached for the firearm at her belt  
'Oh sorry, cop instincts, Purgatory has been pretty crazy recently' Nicole responds with a smile moving towards Anna  
Anna extinguishes her cigarette under the heel of her boot, and moves to be enveloped by Nicole in a hug  
'How have you been Nic, I haven't seen you in ages, you got my text about passing through town then?'  
'Yeah I did and I'm so happy to see a familiar face' Nicole's face betraying the stress from the last couple of weeks  
'Oh no, what's up, need me to break a few kneecaps' Anna says winking and throwing a punch at Nicole's arm  
'Haha no, and besides you were always so bad at fighting' said Nicole chuckling and shaking her head  
'Hey, fine, fine, but if you need to talk, I'm here for the next couple of weeks at least' Anna says resting a hand on Nicole's arm  
Nicole smiled in response 'thank you, honestly, hey you need to tell me all about your travels and your archaeological digs, where are you living at the moment'  
'Oh I've managed to find a place in town, just a small apartment while I plan my next move'  
Hey when do I get to meet these famous Earp sisters then? I remember you talking about them last time we spoke- Waverly and Wynonna right?  
'Yeah, I was actually just about to drive over to Shorty's, the local bar, for a meeting with them and the rest of the gang, wanna tag along?'  
'Sounds great, I'll follow you down in the truck' Anna nodded towards the old chevvy parked on the opposite side of the road  
'God you still drive that rusty old thing' scoffed Nicole  
'Hey, she still runs fine and she's an antique' retorted Anna in mock annoyance  
'Damn archaeologist' replied Nicole with an eyeroll and a smirk, moving towards her cruiser, 'yeah follow me down'

Nicole sits inside her cruiser  
In the distance the chevvy revs a few times before finally erupting into life  
Come on you old rust-bucket shouts Anna slamming her hands on the steering-wheel  
Nicole chuckles to herself it was going to be cool introducing one part of her life to another

They entered Shorty's, Nicole leading the way and instantly noticing her small gang of friends huddled around a table to the left of the bar. Wynonna was pilfering a drink from the tap while Gus was busy serving a regular at the other end of the bar. Doc was telling a story at the table which had everyone laughing and Nicole smiled to see Waverly smiling after all the recent events in Purgatory.  
Nicole snapped out of her reverie as Anna followed her through the door

'Wow this place is like something out of a western, I like it'  
'Yeah Shorty's has its own charm' says Nicole taking the place in  
'They're over here' said Nicole gesturing towards the table  
'Hey guys, hey beautiful' says Nicole coming to stand behind Waverly's chair, planting a kiss on her neck  
Waverly leaned into the kiss, 'hey you, you were a while, and who's your friend?' said Waverly looking over towards Anna who was standing a little away from the table

'Oh guys, this is my friend Anna, she's an archaeologist, I've known her for what 5 years, we were both at college together and both on the softball team'  
'softball eh' says Wynonna coming over to the table carrying a glass of whiskey in one hand and a pitcher of beer in the other. She quirked an eyebrow towards Anna and placed the pitcher in the middle of the table.  
'Haha, yeah we played softball together, but I don't bat for the same team as Nic said Anna jokingly sending a wink towards Nicole, who promptly shook her head and planted another kiss on Waverly's cheek. Waverly released a breath she didn't realise she was holding, she felt midly jealous of this strange woman who had just marched into her life. She knew it was stupid to feel jealous of this woman knowing Nicole longer than she had. She smiled at Nicole's second kiss and rose to let her sit on the chair so Waverly could sit on her lap.

Doc had risen from his chair and had grabbed another from a neighbouring table placing it between his and Jeremy's. He gestures for Anna to sit down.  
Archaeologist eh, now that's somethig I might be interested in, he said removing his hat, running his hand through his hair  
'Down Doc' says Wynonna from the other side of the table 'let the woman speak' she says pushing an empty glass towards Anna so she can partake in the pitcher  
'Cheers' says Anna taking the glass  
'Are you British' asks Wynonna  
'Guilty, I'm from London originally and I go back to visit my folks at home a fair bit. But I've been travelling around the world for the past couple of years, mainly for work but also to see the world you know' Anna takes a sip of her beer  
Waverly can't help but feel a pang of jealousy and Nicole almost instinctively gives Waverly's hand a squeeze- once all this crap was settled, they would travel

'So what brings you to Canada' asks Jeremy turning slighly to face Anna  
'Well I visited some friends in California and they told me I should check out some of the archaeological sites in Canada. I've been over to Nova Scotia and when I saw this place on a map well I just had to visit. I also had to come a visit this loser she says gesturing towards Nicole with a wink.  
Nicole smiles in return 'we'll have to give you the full Purgatory tour' she says with her chin resting on Waverly's shoulder  
'the full tour' snorts Wynonna taking a swig of beer, 'Shorty's is pretty much it'  
'So tell me about this archaeology, its not a proper science is it' says Dolls knowing full well that it would provoke a debate  
Anna and Dolls fall into a lively, if slightly heated debate, with Jeremy occassionally chipping in

'Hey Nicole, do you want something to drink'  
'Yeah sure' Nicole knows that this is more than about a drink owing to the drinks previously brought over by Wynonna  
Waverly and Nicole shift towards the bar and Waverly stands with her back to the bar. Nicole rests her arms either side of Waverly and nuzzles her nose against Waverly's, blocking Waverly's view of the table.  
'Waverly whats up' she says looking her in the eyes  
'Who is Anna, to you I mean, did you guys date? Because I wouldn't mind necessarily...'  
'Waverly, Anna was telling the truth- we met at college through softball because only half the team was gay' says Nicole smiling at the terrible cliche  
'We stayed in contact while I completed my Police training and while she was trekking through remote parts of the world digging up ancient history. I just hope she doesn't dig up some of the ancient history from our college days' says Nicole smiling at her own joke  
Waverly quirks an eyebrow at Nicole's joke and pouts  
'Waverly please don't pout at me, you know I can't resist you when you do' says Nicole fake whining and planting a kiss on Waverly's lips  
'Look she's pretty cool, she loves history, to be honest I think you two would really get on' says Nicole straightening up as Gus walks towards them

'Who's your friend Nicole' asks Gus leaning on one of the taps  
'She's Nicole's friend from college, an archaeologist', replies Waverly gathering herself. There was no point in creating an issue, she trusted Nicole.  
'Ah nice, well it looks like she might fit in' said Gus  
They all look out towards the table. Anna is wearing Doc's hat and has spread out some artefacts across the table from her small bag. Jeremy is inspecting a small bone comb  
'Wow is that a cuneiform cone' says Waverly extracting herself from Nicole's embrace and half running back owards the table  
'It is!' replies Anna picking it up and handing it to Waverly, 'I picked that one up from a site called Arslantepe in Turkey'  
'Wow' says Waverly I've only ever read about these she says turning it over in her hands  
'Nerds' snorts Wynonna with a wink moving towards the pool table, 'Dolls you want a game?'  
'Sure' he replies moving towards the table  
Nicole looked over at Waverly adoringly, she loved her curiosity. She turns to the bar and orders a vodka tonic and a whiskey on the rocks for Waverly.  
'That is honestly so cool, ok I might have to pick your brains about a few things if that's alright'  
'Of course, I have more artefacts in my truck that I can show you too if you like'

Nicole moves back towards the table setting the two drinks down

'So what is the wierdest thing you've ever found' asks Wynonna from the pool table  
'Hmm probably when I was on this dig last year, we found these three skeletons buried next to each other in a mass grave. All parts of the skeleton were there except for the left hands. Then we excavaetd another part of the site and found a single burial of this possible chief and all three of the hands were found buried with him. It was possibly some kind of weird sacrifice' said Anna taking another sip of her beer  
'wow thats strange' said Waverly  
'yeah or maybe he had some kind of hand fetish' replies Wynonna waggling her eyebrows  
''Nonna' replies Waverly with an eyeroll  
'I'm just saying baby-girl that some people are freaky' Wynonna replies coming back to the table to freshen her drink

Nicole is sitting back down and Waverly comes back to sit on her lap. Nicole wraps her arms around Waverly and nuzzles into Waverly's neck.  
'ugh you guys are so cute together' says Anna, 'makes me miss Dan' she says clutching a hand to her heart dramatically  
'ah yeah so you and Dan are still together then?' replies Nicole taking a sip of her drink  
'Yep, been together two years now, he's a firefighter in California' she says pulling out a photo of a handsome man with a chiselled jaw from her purse.  
'Woah cute guy' says Wynonna who had moved to Anna's shoulder to see the photo, 'has he got a brother?' she says with a wink  
'Nonna' Waverly mock complains  
'what, can't blame a girl for asking' she replies with a wink

'Hey kids twenty minutes til I close up for the night, anyone for a last drink' says Gus from the bar  
The rest of the bar had largely emptied out except for a few regular bar-flies  
'Hey Nicole I might head back actually' said Waverly with a yawn, 'Dolls wants us in the office super early tomorrow  
'Oh yeah sure I'll come with you' says Nicole rising and putting her coat on  
'Hey Anna, where are you staying in town?'  
'Oh um, I'm in these apartments just down the road actually but I might walk out with you guys, I'm super tired from travelling today'  
The three walked out, closely followed by Jeremy who said his goodbyes before getting into his mini parked at the front of Shorty's  
'Give me a ring tomorrow if you guys are free' says Anna before getting into her chevvy


	2. As the Dust Settles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wayhaught finally get some alone time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided this chapter needed more reflection on Waverly and Nicole post S2, its a bit of fluff and some angst.  
> This is canon adjacent as I am not mentioning the Cult of Bulshar because I don't know what the show-runners are going to do with that yet, and I really just wanted to write some fluff.

_The sunlight streams through a gap in the curtains. Waverly stirs in her sleep, she is facing Nicole who is still asleep snoring softly. The sunlight illuminates the red in her hair and Waverly runs her fingers gently through Nicole's tresses. Nicole stirs and opens her eyes smiling when she sees Waverly._  
'Hey you' says Waverly leaning over and planting a kiss on Nicole's mouth  
'Hey' replies Nicole still slightly woozy with sleep but she smiles into the kiss  
'I'm glad we are here...together' says Waverly tracing her hand down Nicole's cheek and across her jaw  
'Mm me too baby' smiles Nicole pulling Waverly close to her  
They lie together in an embrace for a few minutes soaking up the quiet in the homestead before the rest of the world wakes up.  
'Baby we should really talk' says Waverly pulling back slightly from the embrace and nuzzling her nose against Nicole's  
'Yeah I think we're really overdue' Nicole says releasing Waverly so she can sit up  
'So I don't really know where to start, but I am so sorry for kissing Rosita' says Waverly  
Nicole sits up and adjusts her pillow so she can lean against the bed-frame  
'Waverly I know, you already told me, and its honestly fine' says Nicole yawning and crossing her arms across her chest  
'To be honest I am more angry that you made that deal with Constance Clootie, you almost risked everything by taking matters into your own hands'  
'Well you can talk Nicole, I mean you decided that I didn't need to know who I truly was'  
Waverly says frowning and getting up from the bed. She starts to pull out some items of clothing from her wardrobe  
'Wait Waverly, I'm tired of fighting, I'm sorry, It's just still so raw'  
Nicole unfolds her arms and looks down at the scar on her arm  
Waverly drapes the top she pulled from the wardrobe across the back of her chair and moves to sit back on the bed  
'I'm sorry too. But in order to move forwards we need to be totally transparent with each other'  
'Agreed'  
'so you said you loved me eh' Waverly says cocking an eyebrow at Nicole  
'Yeah I might have said something like that' Nicole says smirking  
Nicole extracts herself from the bedsheets and moves to sit in the middle of the bed, closer to Waverly. Waverly shifts so that she is sat directly in front of Nicole with their knees touching.  
Nicole places her hands on Waverly's knees and looks at Waverly  
'Waverly' she says with a sigh, 'I love you'  
Waverly leans forwards and kisses Nicole. The kiss starts slow but very quickly Nicole's hands leave Waverly's knees and she pulls Waverly onto her lap. Waverly straddles Nicole and begins to run her hands through Nicole's hair. Waverly pulls back and gently pushes Nicole back onto the bed and straddles her waist. Nicole moans at the lack of contact but closes her eyes allowing her body to fall into the thick duvet. Waverly starts kissing Nicole, then her jaw and her neck down to the top edge of the police t-shirt she wore to bed. She stopped suddenly and looks back up at Nicole.  
'Nicole Haught I love you too' she says  
Nicole pulls Waverly back down onto her and they continue kissing, with Waverly grinding her hips slightly into Nicole.  
A sudden knock at the door breaks their attention  
'hey lovebirds, we've got a lead on some new revenants, get up and dressed I'm making coffee' Waverly and Nicole smile; her sister sure had perfect timing. They share a last chaste kiss before Waverly pushes herself off Nicole and starts rifling through her wardrobe again.  
Nicole comes up behind Waverly hugging her, 'we'll have to finish that later' she says with a grin and kisses Waverly lightly on the ear  
'I need to pee' said Nicole turning to leave the room  
Waverly grins and slaps Nicole lightly on the bum as she leaves the room. Nicole lets out a yelp and sends Waverly a wink.


	3. Re-Grouping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy and Dolls have uncovered a Revenants camp on the edge of the Earp land and Havoc ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted have some fun with an action scene in this chapter. I want to work on the dyanmics between the gang and Anna now that she's in town. Anna is probably just going to be a short-term character. There is some fluff and some angst here again. This chapter is quite a bit longer than the past one.

_Nicole and Waverly come down stairs; Waverly is wearing a crop top and jeans and Nicole is wearing the biggest smile. They are holding hands. They round the corner into the kitchen and sure enough there is coffee brewed in the pot and a box of doughnuts open on the counter._  
'Wow she was not lying' says Waverly surprised, she peaks her head around the corner to check the coast is clear. Then she pulls Nicole close to her for a quick kiss. The kiss starts slow and then rapidly develops into something more passionate. Nicole lightly pushes Waverly against the counter and rests her hands on Waverly's hips. Suddenly the back door opens and Wynonna storms in holding peacemaker. She passes through the kitchen to dump her coat on the sofa in the living room.  
'Break it up lovebirds' Waverly and Nicole break apart suddenly, Nicole starts making herself busy with pouring coffee and Waverly puts bread in the toaster.  
'So Dolls and Jeremy have a possible lead to a new revenant camp on the northern edge of Purgatory, they're playing with fire being near the border, but well they are from Hell and all' says Wynonna with a smile  
'Ok well we should scope it out' says Waverly sipping from her cup of steaming coffee and accepting a piece of toast offered by Nicole  
Doc walks in through the back door  
'Mornin' everyone, I hear we have some demons to be a 'huntin''  
He takes off his hat laying it on the table and his coat putting it over the back of a spare chair which he then takes a seat at  
Dolls walks in 'Morning everyone, right I want everyone ready in 30 mins in here so I can brief you on the operation'  
'Since when do we get briefed, we go in, you guys are my back-up and I shoot the sucker right between the eyes and send him to the big fiery pit, simple as' says Wynonna taking a fake shot with Peacemaker before laying it on the table  
'Yes, but these revenant attacks are unpredictable, and I want to minimise damage as much as possible' Dolls replies looking towards Nicole's scarred arm. Nicole looks down at it too  
'Haught what did the doctors say, are you good to go?'  
'They said that I need to minimise the impact on my arm, so... I should be alright as long as I don't do any close-up fighting' said Nicole. Waverly seemed visibly happy with this declaration and kissed Nicole on the cheek after swallowing a mouthful of toast. Nicole looked miffed at her declaration, but her recent experience with the black widows had brought perspective to her relationship with Waverly, and she smiled at Waverly's kiss.  
'Right so Nicole and Waverly I want you guys on planning and logistics, Wynonna, Doc and I will go in and we'll keep in touch with these' says Dolls placing some walkie-talkies on the table  
'Roger that' says Waverly saluting Dolls  
'Jeremy said he was checking some details and he should be over in 20 minutes'

***  
Jeremy sat at his computer and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He had to set out to the Earp homestead in 10 minutes and the data still wasn't making sense. He had run the inscriptions he had found through his rosetta stone application three times and the phrases still sounded like complete nonsense. Ugh he thought standing up and reaching for his cup of coffee only to find it was empty. Best head out to the homestead and pick Waverly's brain about the strange language.  
He changed into some clean clothes, grabbed his keys from the sideboard and shoved his papers and laptop into a bag.  
Jeremy sat in his car waiting for the engine to wam up the interior. He checked his phone to see a missed call from Dolls and a couple of texts from Waverly asking where he was. He smiled and set off for the homestead.

***  
_Twenty minutes later Jeremy pulled up at the homestead and parks his car next to Doc's pink chevvy. Jeremy shuts off the engine with a chuckle. He comes through the back door and is met with a hive of activity with Nicole and Waverly pouring over ancient and modern maps. Wynonna was reading through one of Waverly's many documents on the revenants connected to Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday was sat polishing his gun._  
'Quick Jeremy save me from this boring reading' Wynonna says looking up when he enters  
'Sorry m'am no can do' Jeremy says his eyes flicking towards Doc Holliday, Doc chuckles at the impression of himself  
'I've actually got to pick Waverly's brain about some ancient languages' says Jeremy pulling out his laptop. Waverly jumps from her position next to Nicole and grins at Jeremy'  
'That sounds like my kind of project' she beams at Jeremy folding up part of the map so Jeremy could sit down. Nicole smiles and shakes her head  
'My nerdy girlfriend' she chuckles squeezing Waverly's shoulder

__

'Ok everyone here's the brief' says Dolls re-entering the room carrying a clipboard. There's a camp due north of the homstead on the boundary of the Ghost River Triangle where a gang of revenants are hanging out. Jeremy and I went out yesterday to scope out the area and we reckon there's about 13 of them in total. We infiltrated one of the revs camper-vans and found these inscriptions, Dolls motions . Jeremy have you had any luck yet? Jeremy smiled at the mention of his name and stood up next to Dolls but before he could he was interupted by Doc.  
'You and him, have been in cahoots together' said Doc in mock exasperation, a smile playing on his lips  
'Yeah sorry Doc, I got bored waiting for ya' said Jeremy with a wink  
'So I've tried decoding the inscriptions but I only got as far as a direct reference to Wyatt Earp, which is where I need your help Waverly' Jeremy says passing his notes from his bag to Waverly 

***  
Waverly had spent two hours trying to decode the inscriptions left by Jeremy, and was starting to loose the will. Nicole sat across her at the table tapping her pen against the note-pad where she was keeping regular notes on the rest of the gang's whereabouts.  
'Waves' she says with a cheeky smile. Waverly looks up  
'Ugh Nicole this is killing me, I've been through my Sumerian and Assyrian textbooks and nothing fits the grammar and sentence structure'  
Nicole gets up and moves behind Waverly, draping her arms across Waverly's neck and laying a kiss on her cheek. Waverly's leans into her embrace and sighs at her touch.  
'Hey I know something to help us unwind from all this work' says Nicole pulling Waverly to her feet  
'Oh yeah, shall we pick up where we left of earlier baby' says Waverly planting a kiss on Nicole's lips  
They move and Nicole lifts Waverly so she can sit on the counter and Nicole positions herself between Waverly's legs. The kisses were long and languid. They had all the time in the world. Nicole pulls off Waverly's top and continues kissing down her neck to the top of her bra.  
Fifteen minutes pass and Waverly undoes Nicole's shirt and her hands begin to roam against Nicole's bare stomach. The kisses begin to gradually get more heated. 

'Nicole...um officer Haught are you there?' shouted a voice from outside  
Who is that Waverly asks hoping that she was imagining the voice  
'Oh um I think its Anna' says Nicole with confusion and annoyance etched on her face.  
Nicole hastily begins to re-button her shirt  
'I swear to god Nicole the next time someone interrupts us I am just going to continue even if the world is burning' Waverly says with a grin sneaking a kiss from Nicole.  
'Deal' says Nicole helping Waverly down from the counter with a grin  
Nicole opens the back door and Anna was sat in her parked chevvy next to Nicole's cruiser. She was texting and her eyes swerved up towards the opened door as Nicole came out.  
'Hey' said Anna  
'Hey' replied Nicole with a smile  
'Sorry for just turning up like this, you said you were living out here and I was exploring Purgatory this morning and thought I would have a mosey on over, sorry if I'm interrupting anything' she added as Waverly appeared from inside, her hair a little mussed from their earlier escapades.  
'Hey no its fine honestly, the others are out at the moment, its just me and Waverly'  
'Ohh I see' said Anna, 'hey I'm happy for you guys, you look good together' said Anna as Waverly came to stand next to Nicole, wrapping her arm around Nicole's waist  
'Hey' said Waverly  
'Hey'  
'Hey look, I'll get out of your hair, said Anna reaching to turn on the ignition, I'll be at Shorty's around 7ish this evening so let's have a catchup yeah?'  
'Wait, why don't you come in for a bit' said Waverly, 'I'd love to hear some stories about you and Nicole as teenagers, warts and all' she says smiling up cheekily at Nicole  
'Sure, if thats ok' said Anna turning off the engine and moving to get out of the car 

_They re-entered the house via the front entrance_  
'Wow I love this place, you can almost feel the history in its walls. Imagine what these walls could tell you' Anna says glancing around  
'Yeah, I wish they would reveal their secrets sometimes' said Waverly  
Waverly and Nicole leaned in for a quick kiss as Anna had a look around the main entrance/ living-room  
'Tea' said Nicole smiling at Waverly and moving towards the kitchen  
'Yes please, milk, no sugar' replied Anna following Waverly and Nicole into the kitchen  
Nicole and Waverly were too wrapped up in each other to remember the papers strewn across the table  
'Wow what is this stuff' said Anna eyeing the documents  
'Oh um, its nothing, I'm just a bit of an ancient dead languages nerd. I was trying to decode some of this stuff...  
'Oh wow this is ancient Sumerian I think, with a bit of Gaelic possibly' said Anna picking up a document and turning it round in her hands frowning  
Waverly looks at Nicole who says 'maybe its worth a shot' under her breath  
'Hey so, do you recognise these?' said Waverly moving towards Anna  
'Bits of them yeah, why have I uncovered a set of secret letters, oh my god sorry I'm being nosy' she said dropping the document back onto the table  
'No, no its ok, hey do you think you could help us decipher some of this stuff?' asked Waverly raising her hand to try and stop Anna's stream of panic  
'Ok sure I like a challenge, I think I have some books in my trunk which I could grab' Anna said leaving through the front door  
'Waverly we don't have to tell her everything, let's just say we found these documents'  
'Yeah ok, I don't want to drag another person into the Earp curse, we just need to make sure we decipher it fast'  
Anna walks back into the house with several large dusty tomes under her arm  
'Right where do you want me' she said re-entering the kitchen. She notices the tension between Nicole Waverly and herself as she walks in.  
'Ok before I start, are you guys safe? Like Nicole I know you're a cop, but are you being threatened by someone. do we need to go to a higher force? Do I need to kick someone's ass?' Anna says with a wink noticing that Waverly and Nicole were struggling to answer her initial question. Waverly looked at Nicole questioningly.  
'All you need to know is that we need to decipher this document as soon as possible. I'm sorry Anna I'll explain at the end yeah, we're just in a rush because we need to relay the message asap'  
'Right, gotcha boss' Anna says sitting down and opening the top book to a dog-eared page. 'Well that first line looks Sumerian to me, possibly the older form of writing before standardisation. But then it changes on the second line to something else and the third line is bizzare, but I'll try and figure it out'.  
'Good, good' said Nicole resting her hands on Waverly's shoulders and squeezing them in reassurance.  
'Anything I can help with' asked Waverly sitting next to Anna, 'I have a degree in ancient languages'  
'Oh brilliant sure yeah, here lets take half the document each and I think these books will help with that second passage there' Anna says handing the stack to Waverly  
They worked on the document for 30 minutes and Nicole had disappeared for a bit to see if she could pick up Dolls and the others on the police cruiser.  
'So ancient languages eh, why did you choose to do that?' Anna says glancing up from her deciphered notes  
'I love history' gushed Waverly 'my family has some crazy history; cowboys and lawmen mainly, but history for me was also a form of escapism a way to leave my backwards town and to explore the vast array of different cultures and histories around the world. I want to explore more than anything, I want to travel and Nicole and I have this amazing plan to travel through Europe together once all our loose ends here are tied up'  
'Ah I'm so happy that Nicole has you, you're exactly what she needs to keep her curious mind working when her boring cop mind takes over' Anna replies placing a hand over Waverly's. Waverly smiles back at Anna  
Nicole walks back in with a worried look on her face  
'I've been trying to tune in Doll's signal but I can't find him, and we still haven't heard from them in over an hour now'  
Just as she says this the walkie-talkie crackles into life *static* 'Nicole, Waverly are you there over'  
'Yes we're here over' replies Nicole  
*static* 'any luck with that curse document?'  
'Um almost, we're about halfway through' replies Nicole  
'Curse document eh, this gets more interesting' says Anna softly  
*static........* *static.......* 'guys *static* we've managed to kill 10 of the revs but the last 3 are proving to be.....problematic' Wynonna says. Theres a massive crash in the background  
'Wynonna do you need backup, I repeat do you need backup' shouts Nicole 'damn I knew I should have gone in with them'  
'No baby, you shouldn't because of your injury, 'Nonna what is the status?'  
*static.......static*  
'Waverly, its Jeremy, Wynonna is a bit tied up at the moment (sound of gun firing in the background and Doc and Dolls shouting orders) we really need that spell like now'  
The line goes dead  
'Wynonna, Jeremy?' shouts Waverly, 'we've lost signal  
'Hang on I think I've almost cracked that last bit says Anna crossing out some of her notes and circling her last section' 

__

_The walkie-talkie crackles back into life_  
'Waverly! Nicole! Right you guys better be ready because we're herding the last thee revs towards the Homestead where we can corner them' shouts Dolls.  
'Crap, crap, crap, shouts Waverly I mean it sort of makes sense except that last bit' 

_Suddenly shouts can be heard in the distance. A truck engine rumbles and appears on the horizon. In front are three rabid-looking revenants waving their pistols in the air and yelling madly_  
'Um guys, what are we gonna do I don't have a gun or anything... says Anna face blanching as the revs get closer to the Homestead  
'There's a kind of forcefield around the Homestead' says Waverly matter-of-factly  
'A what' asks Anna thinking she had misheard  
'You must have noticed this place isn't exactly normal' stated Nicole  
'I mean it looks like its frozen in time' says Anna moving to stand behind a chair, resting her hands on the back  
'Well ugh Waverly we might as well tell her' Waverly nodded and moved from the kitchen to grab her shotgun from the understairs cupboard  
'Basically, Waverly and Wynonna's father Wyatt Earp was a sheriff who put a lot of shitty people behind bars, the Earp family curse meant that they all came back to life as undead revenants, and only using that gun that Wynonna carries called Peacemaker can send them back to Hell' said Nicole as she prepped her own pistol for the inevitable fight  
'Riight, of course, wow, you know what I shouldn't have asked' said Anna clearly disbelieving and releasing her grip on the back of the chair and moving back to leaf through the pages of writing strewn on the table 

_Nicole looks exhasperated and Waverly re-enters placing her shotgun on the table and loading it with bullets_  
'Waves they're almost here' says Nicole moving to look out of the kitchen window  
'Ok, well we'll have to give it a shot' she says cocking her gun  
'Waves, wait' says Nicole exiting the kitchen to pull something from the understairs cupboard 'bulletproof vest, I am not letting you get hurt' says Nicole handing one each to Waverly and Anna  
'Thanks baby, you're always thinking ahead and thats why I love you' Waverly puts the vest on and kisses Nicole before grabbing the notes from the kitchen table  
Nicole exits through the back door and readies herself  
The revenants get closer and are foaming at the mouth. One of them takes a shot towards the homestead, the shot ricochets off the door next to Nicole. Waverly exits the homestead and joins Nicole lining herself up and aiming for the boundary her face setting into a concentrated pout.  
Nicole looks over at Waverly, she smiles and presses a quick kiss to Waverly's forehead and returns to her position next to Waverly.  
Suddenly the shots start coming thick and fast and both Waverly and Nicole return their own shots. Nicole manages to clip one of the revs on the shoulder and he falls to the ground and starts crawling towards the homestead boundary.  
The truck rumbles on behind the revs herding them towards the boundary with Wynonna taking aim from the passengers-side window; she hits the rev that Nicole clipped and he is quickly dispatched by the hell-pit.  
The remaining two revenants start approaching the boundary fast and Waverly picks off one of them who is dressed in a shredded t-shirt and jeans with foam dribbling down his chin. Wynonna swiftly dispatches of his quivering body.  
Anna stood at the kitchen window, mouth agape, was she hallucinating? Did she really see those two crazy-looking men get carried off to the pits of Hell?  
Nicole and Waverly took aim at the final rev, both began to take shots but the bullets seem to bounce off him  
'What the hell, why isn't this working?' shouts Waverly huffing as she ran out of bullets. She runs back inside the kitchen to reload. Nicole continues to take shots but misses everytime.  
'Shit, Waverly, Waves I need that translation like now' shouts Nicole towards the house, while reaching in her pocket to reload.  
Waverly bursts through the door cocking her rifle and aiming at the rev again.  
Suddenly the rev starts running headlong towards the boundary and passes it  
'shit, shit shit' shouts Nicole as she backs up towards the homestead placing Waverly behind her who aims her rifle just out from Nicole's side.  
Anna bursts out of the kitchen door brandishing the translation  
'I translated the last line, I think its right' she says trying to hand the document to Waverly 

_***_  
Dolls, Wynonna and Doc all take shots at the rev out of the windows of the truck but they all fall short.  
'Son-of-a-gun' shouts Jeremy, who is sat in the back seat next to Doc.  
Suddenly the rev turns and shoots behind himself at the truck, his shot hits Doc's shoulder and Doc falls back slightly into Jeremy while maintaining his aim at the rev. But now his arm is shaking too much and his next shots miss completely. The truck swerves in response and Dolls quickly steadies the truck.  
The rev turns back towards the homestead and takes two shots at Waverly; one misses and the other hits her in the right shoulder. She jolts in reponse, her hand missing the document that Anna tries to hand her.  
'Waverly' gasps Nicole supporting Waverly as she falls against the side of the homstead  
'We need that translation now,' Nicole says with worry etched over her face  
Waverly gasps as she clutches a hand to her shoulder. She winces with pain. She nods at Anna to read out the translation.  
'Right, ok'  
Anna clears her throat and starts chanting slowly at first as she sounds out each vowel and punctuates each line by looking directly at the oncoming revenant. As the revenant approaches the chanting gets faster and the revenant stops suddenly and begins to shake violently glowing slightly. He drops his gun and begins to fall to the ground. Dolls pulls up the truck in a cloud of dust and Wynonna swiftly exits the passenger side aiming peacemaker at the revenant rolling about on the ground.  
'Well don't get me wrong, you were pretty smart for a revenant, but now its time for you to make your peace'  
Wynonna aims Peacemaker and its mechanism springs into life, she releases the trigger and the pits of Hell open up and swallow the revenant whole while he screams for mercy. 

_***_

_A couple of hours later the gang are sat in the living room of the homestead. Nicole is sat on the couch with Waverly tucked into her side, an arm resting over Nicole's stomach as Nicole traces her fingers through Waverly's hair. Waverly is patched up after the shot appeared to only be superficial having bounced off the edge of the bulletproof vest, only lightly grazing her shoulder. Both were recovering from the shock of the event._

_Jeremy is fussing over Doc who is sat in one of the old armchairs._  
'Hey, no don't do that' Jeremy says as Doc bats his hand away from trying to apply anteseptic cream to a nasty cut on his shoulder  
'Jeremy, I ain't be needing none of that stuff, I'm as tough as old boots' Doc says wrinkling his nose and running his hand through his hair  
'You sure are' says Jeremy shaking his head and putting the cream down  
'Hey will you two lovebirds get a room' says Wynonna entering the room, bottle of whiskey in hand  
'Hey' says Waverly looking up from her position next to Nicole, ''Nonna you said it was fine for Nicole to stay, and to be completely honest you don't have a choi-'  
'Not you... them' says Wynonna taking a swig of whiskey and jabbing the bottle in the direction of Jeremy and Doc who look back perplexed. 

_Anna walks back into the living room, she's been in the kitchen and she returns holding a steaming mug of tea_  
'So let me get this straight, your family, the Earp family, has a curse which means that people which your grandfather, thats Wyatt Earp, killed... reanimate'  
'Yeah thats pretty much the long and short of it' says Wynonna swigging from the bottle  
Anna looks completely dumbstruck while she takes it all in  
'Here this might help' Wynonna says shaking the bottle  
Anna nods and Wynonna hands her the bottle which she takes a swig from  
'Yeah I don't know whats real anymore' Anna says handing the bottle back to Wynonna and taking the last available seat in the living room  
Suddenly Anna's phone starts ringing and Dan's name appears on the contact screen  
'Oh I have to take this sorry' Anna says rushing into the kitchen  
Wynonna sits in Anna's seat and continues drinking  
Dolls enters the room carrying a pile of documents which he sets down on the coffee table  
'We need to rethink our preconceptions about these Revenants, they're clearly getting smarter'  
'Pfft smart my ass, this one had a spell on it, a curse if you will, it was a cursed curse- curse-ception' says Wynonna making her eyes wide and gesturing with her hands 

_Anna re-enters from the kitchen_  
'Hey Nicole, I'm actually gonna have to go, I just got a call from Dan saying that they need me at a lecture in Quatar on Neolithic pottery-types tomorrow afternoon so I need to go and catch a flight'  
'Oh wow, you're leaving so soon' said Nicole getting up from her cocoon with Waverly  
Waverly stands too stretching her aching muscles  
Nicole moves and envelopes Anna in a hug  
'Ahh I'm gonna miss ya, please lets not leave this too long again next time'  
'Umm yeah, I need to come back soon and hear all about this bloody curse. Now please reassure me that you guys are safe. You have protection from these creatures' Anna says taking Nicole by the forearms and looking up at her.  
'Protections right here' says Wynonna tapping Peacemaker which is in the holster on her belt  
'Hmm yeah to be fair I would not like to be on the end of that...thing' says Anna eyeing peacemaker curiously  
'Ugh I hate that I have to go' says Anna stepping out of Nicole's space  
Suddenly Anna's phone starts ringing  
'Hey Dan, yeah I can get the next plane, I'm in Purgatory at the moment...haha no the place in Canada...yes I'll get a taxi to the airport and yes I'll ring you before I board the plane, right I love you, I have to go'  
'Haha right duty calls' Anna says with a mock salute  
'No rest for the wicked eh' says Wynonna quirking an eyebrow  
'You guys would seem to know all about that haha' says Anna grabbing her coat from the back of the sofa  
'Its been...well a little crazy I'm not gonna lie'  
'Hey it was really nice to meet you' says Waverly giving Anna a hug 'It's nice to see a previous part of Nicole's life  
'Yeah why is that Nicole, got any skeletons in the closet?' asks Jeremy coming over to stand at her side 


	4. Unsettling Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Revenant group on the edge of town, by deciphering ancient curse documents, the gang experience some down-time but things aren't all as they seem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The calm before the storm.
> 
> This chapter has a bit more Anna and Dan in it, but trust me we will get back to our usual cast in the next chapter.
> 
> Also I'm aware that you wouldn't get a direct flight from Quatar to Purgatory, and they would probably make a few pit-stops on the way over, but I've glossed over that for the sake of the story.

_Flight 231 to Quatar is boarding now. Please can you have your tickets and documents ready for the departure gates._  
Anna stands in line for the plane, thoughts about the past couple of days in Purgatory swimming through her mind. She pulled her rucksack over one shoulder and dug around in her cargo trousers for her passport. Shit where is it, a sudden panic rising through her. She left the queue and began to dig around in her rucksack pulling out a couple of old tomes and her trusty trowel. There it was shoved at the bottom of her bag, right next to the documents which Anna had found slipped inside one of Waverly's research books _._  
***  
Anna finally found her seat next to the window and stowed her bag under the seat in front.  
The flight was half empty and her seat was in the back corner of the plane. She ordered a black coffee and sat sipping it while leafing through the documents.  
'Bloody hell Nicole what have you got yourself into' she says rubbing the bridge of her nose. 

___***_  
_The flight went without a hitch and Anna retrieved her travel-worn suitcase from the carousel. She put on her shades and stepped out of the aiport to be met by a wave of dry heat._  
Dan's Jeep was parked down the road and he was leaning against the passenger-side door scrolling through his phone as she approached. He was tall and muscular but lean with a mop of dark curly hair and green eyes. He wore a cut off vest top with a thin checked shirt over the top and a pair of denim shorts   
'Baby' said Anna as she approached him with open arms  
'Darling, how was your flight' he responded enveloping her in a hug which was brief because of the sticky heat. 

_______***_  
_They arrived at the archaeological compound and Dan showed them their room on the second floor ___  
'Babe, I've missed you so much' said Dan hugging Anna from behind and resting his head on her shoulder  
'I've missed you too' said Anna turning and planting a kiss firmly on Dan's lips, 'But I'm all hot and sweaty and I need a shower'  
'You know, the showers in this place are really roomy, there's plenty of space for two' said Dan nibbling at Anna's neck, 'besides I like you when you're all sweaty, it's kind of hot' he said with a wink  
'Fine, you...animal' said Anna with a smirk  
She stepped away from Dan's embrace and began stripping keeping eye-contact with Dan, a small smirk playing on her lips  
Dan watched her hungrily and followed her into the bathroom 

___________They stood in the shower surrounded by clouds of steam re-learning each others bodies. Hands ran over soft curves and lean muscles. Kisses that began soft and gentle quickly became hungry._  
'I've missed you, so...so, much babe' breathed Anna curling her fingers in Dan's hair and pulling him into another kiss. He smiled and nuzzled into her neck.  
They left their stresses and tensions in the steamy bathroom and got dressed to resume life.  
'So let me get this straight, the Revenants were people killed by Wyatt Earp who have come back to life as reanimated corpses to get revenge' said Dan after Anna had explained it to him for the second time.  
'Yes, well that's what they've told me, Dan I'm worried, you know and I know that Nicole will think that she can handle this situation, but I'm worried that she'll burn out'  
'I know baby' said Dan moving from the chair at the kitchen table to stand in front of Anna, rubbing his hands over her arms.  
'But you say that she's got a girlfriend there, someone she really likes, we can' take that away from her'  
'I know and she is lovely, they all are...but I just have a horrible feeling this isn't the end of these Revenant attacks' said Anna allowing her shoulders to slump leaning into Dan's hug  
'I know baby, but you need rest before anything else' _3:02 am Anna's phone illuminates with a text message from Waverly. Anna rolls over in her sleep shielding her eyes with the back of her arm._  
3:04 am Anna's phone rings __  
'Ugh, who is that at this time of the morning' she says scrambling to grab her phone from the bedside table  
'Anna, is that you, sorry I got your number from Nicole's phone...I need help. I'm sorry I know you've left and you're away, but you're Nicole's friend and...she's missing'  
'Wait what, what do you mean she's missing' said Anna blearily rubbing the sleep from her eyes, fumbling to turn the light on  
'Babe, ugh what is it' said Dan rolling over  
'Dan, Nicole's gone missing, I knew something was strange, I bloody knew it' she said adrenaline coursing through her system  
'Shit,' said Dan sitting up, his hair mussed from sleep  
'Waverly, hey its ok, have you called the Police'  
'She is the Police around here, probably why they took her'  
'They, you mean the Revenants right, wait what about your sister, Wynonna right, hasn't she got any contacts to help'  
'Yeah Wynonna, Doc and Dolls are already on the case, but we need you too, because you know her. You knew her before she came...here' Waverly said tailing off choking back some tears.  
'Ok yeah, yeah I'll get the next flight over, and Waverly, thanks for calling me, it means a lot' said Anna ending the call  
_Anna sent a quick message to her boss on the archaeological team excusing herself on medical grounds for the next week ___  
'Dan, I think I need you to come back there with me  
Dan moaned slightly and rolled over in the bed  
'Fine, but I want coffee, you know I can't function without it'  
'I know babe' said Anna quirking an eyebrow 'one coffee coming up' __


	5. Reinforcements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets back together and Waverly cannot stand to be without Nicole any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy with work and life. Hope you guys like this chapter and I've started work on the next/ possible last chapter, not sure yet. Please leave me feedback!

The flight back to Purgatory felt like it went on forever. Anna re-read the documents for the tenth time looking for any clues about the Revenant's next move, and Dan slept with his mouth open in the seat next to her, his head occassionally resting on her shoulder.  
It was snowing in Purgatory when they arrived. It was snowing last time she was there, Anna thought, but wasn't sure. There was definately something strange and unsettling about Purgatory. The wind blew frozen gusts across the wide landscape. In the distance the rusty sign to Shorty's bar screeched in the wind.  
Dan and Anna stepped out of the cab they had taken from the airport and it quickly sped off into the distance, tyres skidding against the snow.

'Babe what is this place, it looks like something off a film set' said Dan pulling his rucksack on  
'This is Purgatory, and that is Shorty's bar where Waverly said she'd meet us' said Anna gesturing towards the sign in the distance  
They trudged through the snow towards the warm yellow lights of Shorty's  
'Its weird last time I was here this place felt strange but not...deserted' Anna said glancing around before they stepped over the threshold of Shorty's

Waverly was stood by the bar clutching her phone in one hand with her other arm resting on the bar top.  
Wynonna and Dolls were sat at a table just left of the entrance  
Waverly looked up as soon as Anna entered the bar and moved across the room to meet her.

'Anna, thank you so much for coming, I'm sorry you had to fly back.  
'Hey, no honestly its fine I've managed to get time off and besides its Nicole of course I'd come back'  
Waverly hugged Anna wrapping her arms around her  
'Hey there are you Dan?' said Wynonna

Dan followed in afterwards bumping into Wynonna as she left the table to get more coffee  
'Hey I recognise you from Anna the archaeologist's photo, you must be Dan right' she said with a wink  
'Yep' he responded a smile curling at the edge of his mouth  
'Shame' said Wynonna with a mock sigh  
'What's a shame 'Nonna' said Waverly coming over to greet Dan  
'That he doesn't have a brother' said Wynonna matter-of-factly, taking the last sip from her coffee cup  
'Nonna' said Waverly hitting her arm and rolling her eyes  
'What' Wynonna replied in mock shock

'Dan meet Waverly, Waverly meet Dan'  
'Nice to finally put a face to a name' said Dan shaking Waverly's hand  
Waverly returned the handshake and nudged Anna to show her appreciation of Dan

Dolls walked into Shorty's with Doc and Jeremy in-toe who were squabbling about their guns  
'Just because your shotgun is bigger than my pistol, 'ent mean that its better. Its more what you do with it' he said throwing a wink towards Wynonna who rolled her eyes in response.  
Dolls shakes his head  
'They've been arguing like an old married couple the whole way back from the new Rev camp' he says carrying a folder of documents under one arm  
'So what's the news on this camp' said Waverly quickly changing the subject, eager to get back to Nicole  
Dolls nods offering Waverly a clipped response, 'we've located the camp as we planned, and I think we've found the stronghold, here take a look at these photos there was a strange coded message on the door of one of the buildings in the camp, you might be able to decipher it. Wynonna can I talk to you for a moment' says Dolls handing Waverly the file and gesturing for Wynonna to follow him back outside.  
Wynonna dutifully followed, pasing Doc and Jeremy who looked a little worried. Waverly had set the photos out on a nearby table so missed the looks.  
Once the door had swung shut behind them and they moved to the side of Shorty's Dolls finally turned and faced Wynonna  
'Wynonna, we've had a sighting of Nicole, and it's not good' said Dolls pulling a photo from inside his coat  
Nicole is pictured pale with a split lip and a bruise around one eye. She is tied up to a chair inside the main stronghold room and the photo was taken of the view through the window.  
'Shit, ok well she still looks like she's alive. My god she is really going to need some therapy after all this, even as a cop she's had more than her fair share of crazy from this town. Right, what's the plan, also we will probably have to tell Waverly'  
'Do you think that's a good idea'  
'Trust me, she'll find out anyway'

They re-enter Shorty's and Wynonna comes straight up to Waverly who is bent at the waist over the table looking at the photos. Wynonna taps her on the shoulder and then takes her by both hands forcing Waverly to face her.  
'Waves, look at me, we need to tell you this. Nicole has been seen, she's tied up, but she's still alive ok, and trust me we are going to get her back'  
Waverly's face fell at the news and she crumbled, her legs giving way. Wynonna pulled her into a hug, stroking her back and nuzzling into her neck.  
'Nonna, is she bad, does she look bad?'  
'No Waverly just a bit of bruising and a split lip, she can handle way worse we know that right' Wynonna said pulling away from Waverly but still holding her by the hands and looking at her straight in the eye.  
Waverly just nodded, a fresh wave of tears threatening to break

****  
The rest of the afternoon was spent concocting a plan to infiltrate the new rev camp. 

***  
3am- the gang are arranged in small groups in the forest on the edge of the new Rev camp. Waverly and Jeremy are at Shorty's which they've established as HQ, and they are communicating via walkie-talkies.

Dolls, Wynonna and Doc and are on the right. Their plan is to infiltrate the camp before sunrise, take photos of any suspicious looking texts and send them back to Waverly and Jeremy for decoding.

Waverly is sat in Shorty's at the war-table drumming her fingers on the surface. Jeremy is busy loading a decoding programme on his laptop, but he keeps casting glances towards Waverly. Waverly is focussing on her fingers against the wood as she needs something solid to keep her grounded in the maelstrom. Her stomach is turning with thoughts about Nicole.  
'Hey, they are going to find her' said Jeremy placing a hand over one of Waverly's to stop the drumming  
Waverly looked at him, her mind brought back to reality.  
'I know you're worried, but trust me, trust Wynonna, we are going to find her' he said looking Waverly straight in the eyes.

***  
Three hours later. The two groups have managed to make significant moves towards the camp and have sent back more pictures about the codes.  
'Jeremy, Jeremy over we need to speak to you urgently' said Doll's voice over the walkie-talkie  
Jeremy made for the walkie-talkie but Waverly snatched it off the table  
'Dolls what is it, over'  
*static*  
*static*  
'Jeremy'  
'Speak to me' shouted Waverly down the walkie-talkie  
Dolls sighed 'Wynonna has gone missing, she er went out an hour ago to get a closer look and we've not heard anything since'  
Waverly slammed the walkie-talkie back down on the table and turned on her heel towards the front door grabbing her thick winter coat on the way out.  
'Waverly', Waverly wait' shouted Jeremy following her, grabbing the walkie-talkie  
The door swung back open and Waverly re-entered sweeping past Jeremy making a beeline for her shotgun in the understairs cupboard.  
'Fine, but I'm coming with you' said Jeremy grabbing his coat and following her out. Waverly grabbed a spare pistol and handed it to him, and he took it warily putting it into his pocket.  
'Dolls, we're coming to find you' stated Waverly down the walkie-talkie  
*ping* rang Jeremy's phone, Dolls had sent them a dropped pin to indicate their location  
They tracked through the forest, branches cracking underfoot, led by the light of the moon. Both Waverly and Jeremy were tucked into their coats. Waverly's eyes darted picking out a pathway through the dense forest.  
Suddenly the track began to even out and it was clear that a group of individuals had moved through the landscape, and just ahead the faint glow of a fire illuminated the dark.  
Waverly cocked her gun. Jeremy looked at her and drew his pistol from his pocket. They both advanced taking shelter behind a tree. Luckily the gang they encountered was not a rabid band of revenants, but instead Dolls, Doc and the two newcomers.  
Waverly and Jeremy stepped out from the shelter of the trees into the light of the campfire.  
Doc shielded his eyes raising his gun slightly before realising who it was and moving to capture Waverly in an embrace.

***  
They sat gathered around the fire. Doc produced a hip flask from his jacket and handed it to Waverly who took a swig. Her legs felt like lead and she sat down heavily on the log by the fire. Her arms felt heavy and they rested on her knees.  
'Doc I need Nicole. I need to know that we can find her and 'Nonna. I can't cope without them' she said her eyes brimming with tears.  
'I know darling, we will find them, and we will punish those god-for-nothing mothers who took them' he said placing a hand on top of hers and squeezing it.


	6. House of Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Dolls infiltrate the Revenant stronghold where Nicole is being held. Waverly's emotions and memories with Nicole are tested.

The campfire was low when Waverly rose from the short nap she managed to grab between her turn on look-out. Dolls was sat beside a tree facing the rev camp; a pair of binoculars around his neck and his shotgun primed and ready. Jeremy was also on first watch.  
Waverly extracted herself from the bundle of blankets that covered her and Wynonna. A sudden breeze caused Wynonna to mumble and roll over in her sleep. She needed to find Nicole, now. Just as Waverly began to step through the sleeping campers a twig cracked under foot.  
'And where would you be going miss Earp' said Dolls without looking round'  
'I need to find Nicole. I can't wait any longer, I'm sorry I have to go'  
' I understand, so let me come with you, as backup' he said simply putting the binoculars down and turning to face her  
Waverly just nodded in agreement. To be honest she didn't have much of a plan besides leave the camp and find Nicole.  
Dolls gathered a few things in a backpack and checked the ammo in his side-arm before leaving a message with Jeremy'  
'We are going after Nicole, if things get ugly we will let you know via walkie-talkie. If we're not back in 5 hours come and find us'  
Jeremy nodded once in agreement and got back to his watching-post  
Waverly and Dolls left the camp silently and began trekking through the thick forest towards the rev camp. Minutes passed in silence, the enormity of the task ahead of them loomed. When they finally reached the clearing with the camp Dolls held back behind a tree and beckoned Waverly to join him.  
'Ok, the last sighting of Nicole was in that window on the left' he said shining a small torch towards the now darkened window.  
Waverly nodded  
'What's the plan?'  
'The plan, the plan is we infiltrate from two entrances; I'll take the back entrance and you take the front. Be careful of any traps that might be laid. If you get captured hold tight and we'll call backup' Waverly looked pale in the moonlight  
'When we find her, and Waverly we will find her, radio in' Dolls says reassuring Waverly by placing a hand on her shoulder  
Waverly nodded, jaw set. She loaded her shotgun and then just as Dolls turned to leave enveloped him in a hug  
'Thank you'  
He nodded in return

Waverly took the front entrance. She moved swiftly towards the door and tried the handle but with no luck. 'Worth a try' she said out-loud. She inspected the clumsily scrawled writing on the door  
_I can bring tears to your eyes; resurrect the dead, make you smile, and reverse time. I form in an instant but I last a lifetime. What am I?' ___  
Waverly read the question a couple of times before answering out loud 'memories'  
The door swung open and a dim light shone from within

Meanwhile Dolls managed to shimmy a window open at the back of the house and he slipped inside the house illuminating the room around him with his torch.  
There were pictures and newspaper clippings attached to the walls and ceiling and they fluttered in the wind from the open window.  
On closer inspection the clippings were all about one person, Nicole and her arrival in Purgatory. The pictures looked like they were taken on a camera with a long lens, the kind used by paparazzi. Nicole was snapped leaving the cop precinct, getting into the cruiser and a couple showed her at home taking the rubbish out.  
'We've got ourselves a stalker' said Dolls out-loud shining the torch around to see the extent of the material.  
He turned around and found the door handle shining out between the scraps of paper. He opened the door and moved outside into the central hallway. 

Waverly entered the house and was met by a chilling breeze which made the hairs on the back of her neck and arms stand up. She began to move down a central hallway and the main door suddenly swung closed and slammed behind her. She was suddenly surrounded by complete darkness and she swung around to see if anyone had followed her in, but her hands holding the torch shook slightly and she needed to focus on the task at hand, finding Nicole. She swallowed thickly and looked down the large corridor. There were doors on either side and the corridor seemed to stretch on forever. She decided she needed to eliminate some of the rooms and began with the first one on the left of the front door. The door creaked open onto what looked like an old reception room. Mould had begun to take over in the corners of the room and the front window had a large crack in it where a tree had forced its way in from outside, but had since died leaving a twisted carcass trapped between the panes of glass. The walls were covered in old wallpaper with a faded design that she couldn't quite make out. Waverly moved closer and shone the torch directly on the wall. The design depicted a figure, a woman, dressed in sheriff's clothing leaning over a bar talking to a smaller woman. The glint in those brown eyes was chillingly familiar and Waverly felt her stomach drop. She shone the torch along the wall and saw how the story developed. Those first fleeting glances, the blush that spread across her cheeks. The look of relief and glee on Nicole's face when she left Shorty's and paused momentarily outside the door. Waverly pressed her hand to the wallpaper running her fingers over the figure of Nicole. The wallpaper was damp from years of condensation and the figures seemed to bleed and merge into a different image; Nicole entered Shorty's and engaged with Waverly, but Waverly was disgusted at the obvious flirting and called Champ from the back room to kick her out. In another image Champ and Waverly went straight to Nedley's office and accused Nicole of assaulting Waverly, and in a final image she was driven out of Purgatory, the usual glint in her brown eyes dulled in sadness.  
Waverly's hand slipped down the wall and a tear rolled down her cheek. Suddenly a woman's scream echoed through the house and it shook Waverly out of her reverie. She shone the torch around looking for the exit and she left with tears glistening on her cheeks. 

Dolls left the first room perturbed by the images of Nicole plastered haphazardly across the walls. He began to move down the long corridor when a sudden scream reverberated through the bones of the old house. The scream was unmistakably female and it shook him to his core. Its an audible hallucination he told himself but he still called out for Waverly and Nicole as a gut reaction. No answer and his heart was beating rapidly.  
'Screw it. Wynonna come in we need backup, this place is creepy as hell. There's images of Nicole all over this place and we need to find her, over'  
'We're coming in' replied Wynonna 

Waverly left that first room and moved down the corridor. Nicole was in a room on the left so she tried the next door on the left. The room this time was dressed as a bedroom. A large four-poster bed dominated the centre of the room and it was dressed in bedsheets which had been strewn around. Waverly moved through the room which had an impossibly high ceiling for the size of the house.   
'Waverly, what are you doing here' said a familiar voice. Waverly spun around to see Nicole standing behind her. Except it wasn't Nicole, not her Nicole. She stood there paler than normal, with a gaunt face and her arms crossed over her chest.  
'Nicole, I'm here to rescue you, so is Dolls, he's here somewhere and Wynonna and the others are on their way too' she said placing a hand on Nicole's arm  
Nicole brushed Waverly's hand off.  
'How dare you, how dare you come back here after what you said'  
Waverly pulled her hand back  
'What do you mean Nicole, what did I say?' she said with tears threatening to spill  
Nicole rolled her eyes  
'You walked out on me, last night or don't you remember. You bloody Earp's are all the same, always getting wasted. I needed you Waverly and you walked out' she shouted the last sentence, tears running down her face.  
'Get out Waverly' she said grabbing her by the front of the shirt and physically shoving her from the door  
Waverly allowed herself to be pushed from the room, stumbling backwards into the dark and crashing into the wall behind her. She sank to her knees. 

Dolls moved into a second room, a kitchen with a large dining table and central chandelier both of which were covered in thick layers of dust and dirt, cobwebs were hanging from the chandelier. The air was musty and cold. He shone the torch around the room and something glistened from the pinboard on the far wall. There were photos printed off from a camera with dates printed on the bottom corners. They were pictures mainly of Nicole and Waverly; their first date at a crappy Italian restuarant with Nicole beaming at Waverly as she tries to scoop up strands of tomatoey spaghetti with a fork. The next photo was Waverly and Nicole at Shorty's sitting at a table. They were lost in each other and didn't notice Wynonna photobombing in the background. Dolls smiled.  
A sudden crash made him spin around. He left the kitchen swiftly and flashed his light down the corridor. Waverly sat on the floor, crumpled and silent, her torch had fallen from her hand and had rolled down the corridor a bit. Dolls ran over to her.  
'Waverly, Waverly are you ok?' he said placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking it slightly.  
'She, pushed me away. She doesn't want me' she said with fat glistening tears snaking down her cheeks  
'What, Waverly don't be crazy, Nicole loves you, trust me'  
Waverly looked up and met his eyes and nodded slightly. Dolls helped her to her feet  
'Where did you see her?'  
'In that room' she responded gesturing towards the door she had just crashed through  
He picked up the torch handing it to Waverly and he took her other hand and lead her back into the room  
'She was here, I swear'  
'I believe you'  
They entered the room and stood in the middle back-to-back shining their torches around for any sign of life. The door swung shut behind them and they both ran to try and prize it back open. Suddenly the lights started flashing, the windows burst open and a gale started building in the room. The figures in the wallpaper started moving; Champ and Waverly started chasing Nicole and were soon joined by Wynonna and Nedley until they chased her out of Purgatory. Then the figures started to expand and bled into one large red blob. Then the ink from the figures began to bleed down the walls onto the floor.  
The door swung open again and the photos from the kitchen and the newspaper clippings from the back room flew in and began swirling around in the gale. It then slammed shut again.  
'Waverly look, this is you and Nicole, these are the true memories' shouted Dolls against the fierce wind.  
'But where is she. Nicole, Nicole' she began to shout  
Then the floor began to illuminate and smoke and pieces of the floorboard began to melt away into flames that were building from below. Suddenly a ghostly figure appeared from the ground; she looked like Nicole but where her eyes were their usual warm brown, they were instead cold, black and unnatural. She smirked  
'Hi Waverly. Miss me?' she said winking  
'Where is Nicole' Waverly said angrily  
'Oh, she's changed She's like a new woman' she said with a cruel smile  
Then a figure of Champ with a similar sinister grin and cold staring eyes emerged from the fiery depths. He placed a hand on the alternate Nicole's shoulder. They smiled at each other  
'We don't need you anymore Waverly, we've got each other' she said turning her head to Champ and kissing him firmly on the lips.  
'Well at least I know that would never happen' Waverly said defiantly  
'Nicole, where are you' she shouted again  
In the distance a loud crash could be heard and then rapid footsteps approaching the door. Then the door crashed open and swung on its hinges. Behind the door stood Wynonna brandishing Peacemaker with Jeremy and Doc on either side.  
'Someone order a demon slayer'  
'Ooh what freaky Nicole and Champ together, what kind of weird parallel universe is this?'  
'Hi Wynonna' said Nicole tipping her head to the side slightly  
'That was almost believable. Almost. But Nicole is super gay and wouldn't hook up with a douchebag like Champ, so y'all need to go to Hell' she said firing at the spectres. They burst into flames and dissolved into the ground  
'Waves' Wynonna said releasing a held breath and wrapping her in a hug  
The others moved into the room and scoped out the space for any more revs  
Dolls moved to the end of the room and began to inspect the walls until he found a concealed door which had been hastily covered with wallpaper to make it blend in.  
Doc and Dolls pulled the paper from the wall and began to try and prize the door open, they nodded towards Jeremy who joined them  
'Boys, boys stand aside, let me' said Wynonna aiming a shot at the door-lock. The lock smoked and Dolls shoved the door open with his shoulder  
'Nice shot' said Doc with a wink  
The room was dark and as the smoke cleared a figure was left standing in the dim light from a dirty window in the room. Nicole moved out from the room with her gun raised slightly in caution.  
'Nicole' shouted Waverly in surprise dropping her shotgun and running to embrace Nicole  
'Baby' said Nicole meeting Waverly's tight embrace, lifting her off the ground and placing a kiss firmly on her lips  
'You're alive Haught-stuff' shouted Wynonna  
'I managed to escape my handcuffs, perks of being a cop' she said winking at Waverly  
'Kinky' winked Wynonna  
'But then I got stuck in this darn room'  
'Come on lets get you home' said Jeremy  
'Yeah lets move out' said Dolls in agreement  
'Guys, give us a few minutes, we'll catch you up'  
Waverly let everyone else leave the room before turning in Nicole's arms to face her again.  
'I'm sorry. Nicole. I'm sorry that you got kidnapped. I'm sorry about you getting mixed up in all...this.  
'Waverly, look at me. I knew what I was getting myself into. Well I at least had an inkling that it wasn't normal when I first heard about you Earps. But you can't get rid of me that easily. Plus, we make a pretty good team. Waverly and Nicole'  
'Nicole and Waverly' chanted Waverly  
Nicole pulled Waverly in for a heated kiss, wrapping her arms around Wavery's tiny waist and pulling her in close. They lost themselves in that moment. The ash from the burning floorboards swirled around in the half-light. Waverly pulled back slightly smiling  
'I'm kinda cold Nicole'  
'Come on miss blanket with an extra blanket, let's get you home' she said taking off her Police jacket and putting it on around Waverly's shoulders and then resting her arm around Waverly's waist and leading them back outside to join the others 


End file.
